Can-tester.



No. 808,145. PATENTED DEG. 26E M65. J'. A.. DIESEL.

GAN TESTERx APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1904.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 14 I i r No. 808,145A PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. J. A. DIESEL.

CAN TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. s. 1904.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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N0. 808,145. PATENTED DEG. 26, 1905. J. A. DIESEL.

GAN TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1904.

'I SHEETS-SHEET 3 .Y

No. 808,145. PATENTED DBG. 26, 1905. J. A. DIESEL.

CAN TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. s. 1904.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

No. 808,145. PATENTBD DEC. 26, 1905. J. A.. DIESEL.

CAN TESTER.

APPLIATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1904.

'l SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Jaaa/l?? No. 808,145. PATENTED DEG. 26, 1905. v

J. A. DIESEL.

CAN TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1904.

'I SHEBTS-SHEBT 6.

No. 808,145. J A DIESEL MT1-:MED DEC.26,1905.

' GAN TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1904.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

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'.'1 @f I I I n I l if (M6/5f? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

CAN-TESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed September 6,1904. Serial No. 223,415.

T all whom 25 may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. DIESEL, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Testers, of which the following is a specification, and which are illus.- trated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to a device for testing tin cans as a step in their process of manufacture for the purpose of determining if the soldering of the joints has been so performed that the can is capable of being made air-tight by closing the end left open for lling.

The invention contemplates means for receiving a can and securing it between a pair of clamping members, connecting its interior with a supply of air under pressure, submerging it temporarily in a bath which will permit of the observation of air escaping from the can in case it leaks, and after bringing it out of the bath shutting off the supply of air and separating' the clamping members, so that the can will be discharged at either one of two discharge-points, depending upon the setting by the attendant of a movable cam-engaging roller.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine which shall have the capacity to test a large number of cans in a given time, which will prevent the escape of air from the cans having sound joints while submerged, and which will separate the sound cans from the defective ones with the least manual labor. These objects are obtained in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a detail central vertical section of the machine. Fig. 2 is an inclined plan of the same, having' certain parts broken away to facilitate illustration. Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2, but having some, of the upper parts of the machine removed. Fig. 4 is an inclined front elevation, partly in section. Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a plan, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail side elevation of the machine with some of the parts broken away. Fig. 8 is a plan, partly in section, of the parts shown in ig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detail vertical section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8. Fig. IO is a detail elevation showing some of the parts of Fig.

9 in a diferent position, and Fig. 11, is a sectional detail taken on the line 1l 11 of Fig. 4.

Clamping members for receiving the can are preferably placed near the circumference of a wheel revolving in a plane inclined from the horizontal, so that a segment thereof may be always submerged in a tank of liquid set under its lower side. The clamping and release of the cans are obtained by means of suitable cams fixed upon a frame arching over the wheel and operating upon the cam-engaging rollers carried by one of the clamping members. The differential release of the cans providing for separating the defective from the sound ones is dependent upon shifting the position of certain of the cam-engaging rollers by an attendant who observes the cans as they pass through the bath.

The machine is preferably mounted upon an inclined platform (shown at to which is bolted a suitable standard 26, providing bearings for the main driving-shaft 27 and the revolving stud 28, carrying at its base the worm-wheel 29, meshing with a corresponding worm 30 on the driving-shaft 27. The standard 26 is formed above into a tubular post 31, having an annular iiange 32, to which is bolted a circular table 33. This table has an upstanding continuous rim 34, which serves as a track for supporting the revolving parts of the machine, and is provided at the ends of its horizontal diameter with wings 36, Figs. 3 and 4, which support a pair of parallel straps 37 and 38,arching over the machine.

rllhe revolving parts of the machine comprise besides the stud 28, previously mentioned, a wheel composed of the drum 39, forming the hub, rigidly secured to the stud 28, and a plurality of apertured sector-plates 40, Fig. 2, secured to the drum and forming the spokes and rim of the wheel, the clamping members, and other mechanisms carried by the wheel. Each sector-plate 40 has a segmental depending rib 4l on its under face, to which are rotatably secured, as by means of the bolts and cotter-pins 42, a plurality of rollers 43, which run on the track 34. Preferably a vertically-slotted aperture 4la is formed in the rib 4l for receiving the bolt.42, and in this slot the bolt is adjustably secured by a nut and washer 42, as most clearly shown in Figs. 7 and ll. A set-screw 43a is provided for vertically adjusting the bolt, so that all of the rollers 43 may be made to engage the track 34. Extending radially IOO from the drum 39 and communicating with its interior are a plurality of pipes 44, each provided with a valve 45 and each valve 45 controlled by the bell-crank 46 on its stem.

Couplings 47 connect each pipe 44 to the hollow shank 48 of a platen 49, rigidly secured in position by means of a clamp 50, encircling its shank and bolted to the sector-plate 40. The face of the platen 49 is covered with a thick cushion 51, of some pliable material,

l an upstanding lug 56, upon which is mounted a cam-engaging roller 57.

A latch or detent 58 is pivoted at 59 in lugs 60, rising from the ways 55, and has a toe 64, which falls behind a shoulder 65. formed on the plunger-shank 54, Figs. 9 and 10, so as to lock the plunger in its advance position. The latch 58 is provided with an upstanding stem carrying a cam engaging roller 61. This roller is supplemented by an oscillating arm 62, pivoted on the stem and having a late ral pin upon which is carried a roller 63, bearing against the face of the roller 61. This arm may be manually swung so as to make contact with the cam provided for tripping the latch, and it has an extension 66, adapted to contact with a suitable trip 85 for swinging the arm out of action. A pin 58, set transversely in the stem of the latch 58, serves both to hold the arm 62 to its seat and also as a stop for limiting the movement of the arm and adapted to be engaged by a stud 62, rising from the arm.

Each sector-plate 40 is apertured, as shown at 67, so as to allow a can X. to drop through it when released by the retraction of the plunger 53. This aperture may be temporarily closed by a trough-shaped swinging gate 69, (most clearly shown in Fig. 5,) hinged to the sector-plate 4() at the advance side of the aperture 67 and normally swinging free. A camstrap 70, secured to the rim 34 of the table 33, rises in the path of the gate, and the latter, engaging it by a depending boss 69, is closed just before it reaches the feed-chute through which the cans are delivered to the machine. The length of the cam-strap 70 is such that the gate is held closed, the boss 69n riding upon the strap until the can resting upon it is engaged by the plunger 53.

Suitable cams are provided for sliding the plunger 53 and for rocking thelatch 58. All of these cams are carried by the straps 37 and 38, those for actuating the plunger 53 being shown at 71, 72, and 73, while those rocking the latch 58 are shown at 74 and 75. The

cams 71 and 72 are made preferably of a short-length angle-bar rigidly secured at an angle to the under face of the straps 37 and 38. The cam 73 is made of spring metal and attached at one end only, this attachment being shown as made to the strap 37.

For tilting the latch 58 so as to bring the toe 64 into engagement with the shoulder of the plunger 53 as the latter is advanced a yielding cam action is preferred. This is obtained by pivoting the cam 74, Fig. 6, to a cross-bar 76, secured to the upright portion of the straps 37 and 38, and providing a spring 77 for controlling its free end. The latch is turned back so as to allow the plunger 53 to move in the slideways 55 by means of the cam 75, Fig. 8, which is preferably made of a relatively longer length of anglebar and is secured to the under face of the straps 37 38. Y

Compressed air is supplied to the drum 39 through the pipe 78, Fig. 1, entering the drum at its center through a stuffing-box 79. The valves 45 are automatically operated by means of two arms 8O and 81, rigidly secured to the straps 37 and 38 and each having a finger 82 and 83 depending in the path of the valve-cranks 46, Fig. 4.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Power is applied to the driving-shaft 27 in any way, such as by means of a belt over a pulley A, and a tank of hot water B is placed under the low side of the machine, so that a segment of the revolving wheel and a part of the table 33 are submerged. As viewed in Fig. 2, the front of the wheel moves from left to right, and the cans to be tested are fed to the machine with their open ends toward the center, preferably through a chute C. The gate 69 for closing the aperture 67 is maintained in a horizontal position by the cam 70 beneath the chute, so as to receive the can and support it until it is clamped between the platen 49 and the plunger 53 by the advance of the latter, produced by the cam 71 operating on the roller 57 and the tilting in of the latch 58, caused by pressure of the cam 74 upon the roller 61. As the wheel revolves the gate 69 will pass off the supporting-cam 70 and swing downwardly, leaving the can supported only by the clamping members. When the Valve 45 passes under the arm 80, the finger 82 will engage the crank 46 and open the valve by giving it a quarter-turn, allowing the compressed air to rush into the can. As the can passes through the water if no airbubbles are seen rising from it no further notice will be given to it by the attendant, and when it has been carried out of the bath the supply of compressed air will be automatic- IOO IOS

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ally shut off by a quarter-turn of the valve has reached the position shown at the extreme left in Fig. 8. In this case-z'. e., when the can has proved to be sound by the non-appearance of bubbles of escaping air as it passed through the bath-the discharge of the can as just described is provided for in its release by the clamping members, which are operated as follows: The latch 58 is tilted outwardly by contact of its cam-engaging roller 61 with the cam 75, and the plunger 53 is moved in the slideways 55 by contact of the roller 57 with the cam 72. The cam 75 is made of considerable length, Fig. 8, for the purpose of retaining the latch 58 in a tilted position until the shoulder on the shank of the plunger 53 has cleared its foot 64:. If as the can passes through the testing-bath bubbles are observed, caused by the escape of air from any of its seams, the attendant will rotate the arm 62, so as to bring the supplemental roller 63 in front of the roller 6l. In this case the locking member 58 will be tilted much sooner by the cam 75, the forward end of the cam being more sharply inclined, as shown at 7 5, than its .remaining portion to promptly effect this action, and the defective can Y will be released by the receding of the plunger 53, caused by the pressure of the yielding cam 73 upon the roller 57, and will be discharged by dropping through the aperture 67 when at the position shown in Fig. 8, beneath which a suitable crate D will be placed to receive it. The wing 36 of the table 33 is recessed, as shown at 82, Fig. 3, to allow the defective can to pass. As the arm 62 passes by the stop 85 the roller 63 will be moved to an inactive position beside the roller 6l.

The machine as organized and shown has about thirty radial pipes 44 leading from the drum 39, each being' connected to a set of clamping members, as described. It is proposed to run the machine at a speed of two or three revolutions per minute, so that approximately five thousand cans will be tested per hour. It will be understood from the preceding description and from the drawings that the cans are carried by the inclined wheel for only slightly more than a half-revolution, the clamping members remaining separated during the half-revolution in which they pass the elevated side of the machine preliminary to receiving a can when they arrive at the position shown in Fig. 6. The chute C will receive cans so as always to contain a considerable number one above another. As the machine revolves each pair of clamping members will carry away the lowest one in the chute, thus allowing those remaining to descend and the next lowest to fall onto the face of the wheel, upon which it will slide or roll until the next aperture 67 comes under the chute. It will then drop onto the gate 69 and be secured and carried away by the correspondlng pair of clamping members.

I claim as my inventionl. Inacan-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a table rotatably mounted on the frame; an air-chest carried by the table; radiating tubular arms leading from the chest each having a clamping-head at its end;v a reciprocatory clam ping-head mounted on the table in line with each of the first-named heads; cams carried by the frame for actuating the reciprooatory heads; an oscillating detent cooperating with each of the last-named heads;

l and cams mounted on the frame for actuating the detents.

2. In a can-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted thereon; cooperating clamping-heads carried by the table, one thereof being fixed and the other reciprocatory; an oscillatory detent for engaging the reciprocatory head when advanced; a cam fixed obliquely across the orbital path of the detent; a member carried by the detent and movable thereon before the face thereof which engages the cam.

3. In a can-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted thereon; a pair of clamping-heads mounted on the table, one thereof being reciprocatory; a detent for locking the movable head in its advanced position; a cam mounted on the frame for throwing back the detent; a member carried by the detent and movable infront of its cam-engaging face; and a yielding cam carried by the frame for actuating the movable head.

4. In a can-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted thereon; a pair of clam ping-heads mounted on the table, one thereof being reciprocatory; a detent for engaging the latter head when advanced; a cam mounted on the frame for throwing back the detent; a member carried by the detent and movable in front of its cam-engaging face; a trip swinging such member away from the cam-engaging face of the detent; and a yielding cam carried by the frame for actuating the movable head.

5. In a can-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted thereon and having an aperture; a pair of clamping-heads carried by the table over the aperture; a chute leading to the heads; a swinging gate pivoted to the under side of the table adjacent the aperture; and a cam fixed to the frame for closing the gate when the aperture is in line with the chute.

6. In a can-testing machine, in combination, a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted thereon and having an aperture; a pair of clamping-heads carried by the table over the aperture; a chute leading to the heads; aswinging gate pivoted to the under side of the table adjacent the aperture and having a concave face; and a cam xed to the frame for closing the gate when the aperture is in line with the chute.

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7. In afnam-testing machine, in combination, vaneed position; and a yielding eam mounted a stationary frame; a rotatable table mounted on the frame for throwing the detent into aetheleon; a pair of Clamping-heads earned by tion.

the table, one thereof being reoipioeatory; a JOHN A. DIESEL, 5 cam mounted on the frame for engaging the Vtnesses:

movable head to advance it; an oscillatory de- CHARLES B. GILLSON,

tent for' looking the movable head in its ad- LOUIS K. GILLSON. 

